


It's Not the Same Without You

by ImpossibleClair



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Happy Ending, Post-Game, UDSS, Until Dawn Secret Santa 2017, for Mogitz of tumblr, it's short i'm really sorry but i hope you like it, pretty much fluff, recovering wendigo!josh, some christmassy stuff, went for a mix of otp and brotp i hope that's cool, with a little bit of pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 00:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13112244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpossibleClair/pseuds/ImpossibleClair
Summary: It's Christmas. The tree is up, the food is ready, and the day is fine. But it's just not the same without Josh.Written for Mogitz for our 2017 Until Dawn Secret Santa! Merry Christmas. I hope you like it :)





	It's Not the Same Without You

Sam’s glass of ginger beer was untouched. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it; Mike had even gone out of his way to get the special Christmas one that he knew Sam loved. But she simply couldn’t bear to lift the glass. She rested her chin on her hand, drawing lazy patterns in the condensation on the glass.

“Hey.”

Mike plonked himself down beside her. He offered her a plate.

“Gingerbread? Fresh out of the oven.”

Sam managed a smile.

“No thanks. Not really hungry.”

Mike looked crestfallen. 

“But Ashley made them. You know how good her gingerbread is.”

He waved the plate under her nose teasingly, wafting the scent of warm gingerbread into her face. She pushed it away.

“Mike, stop.”

He frowned, setting the plate aside.

“What’s up? Don’t say nothing, I know this face.” He circled his finger at her. “This isn’t a ‘nothing’ face, this is a ‘something’ face.”

Sam sighed.

“It doesn’t feel right,” she murmured. “Celebrating without him.”

Mike was quiet for a few moments. He’d never been the greatest when it came to giving comfort, and she could see him struggling to figure out what to say. Then something in his face clicked. 

“I have an idea.”

*

Mike swung his big four-wheel-drive into a parking space. Sam had to give him this: what he lacked in comfort skills, he made up for in problem solving. They piled out of the car – Chris and Ashley with the baking, Jess with the drinks, Emily with the turkey, and Matt hauling along the bags of presents. Sam clambered out of the front seat.

“Did we really need to bring that?” Emily asked as Mike helped Sam wrestle a fake Christmas tree out of the trunk.

“Yes,” came six simultaneous replies. Emily rolled her eyes.

The hospital was busting with activity. Nurses ran to and fro, trying to keep up with the families taking their hospital-gown-clad relatives on Christmas jaunts to the gardens and cafes. Seven teens laden with the makings of a small feast and a small tree didn’t make as much of a splash as they expected. They rode an elevator up to the third floor, and staggered their entrances to room 214 so that the nurses wouldn’t get suspicious. If they thought it unusual that a tree ran across the hallway, they didn’t say anything about it.

There was a scratchy laugh as Sam entered the room.

“Sammy? Is that you behind there? Or did my parents fund a weird tree genetics thing while I was gone?”

Mike took the tree from her, and when the pine needles cleared, there was Josh. 

For having spent a month in a mine, he was looking pretty good. When they’d pulled him out, he’d hardly been recognisable. But the worst of the damage had been healed. The skin grafts had taken well, the stitches had been removed, and with a few weeks of proper food and sleep under his belt, he no longer looked gaunt and skeletal. It was his eyes that caught Sam though. Of course it was. She always did love his eyes.

“Trees are still pretty immobile, last time I checked,” Sam said, dusting off her hands. “So unfortunately, it’s just me.”

Josh smirked, showing off pointed teeth. 

“Just you? Well, I think I can live with that.”

Sam smiled, really smiled, and with just a few steps she was close enough to lean in and hug him. 

“Ugh, save it for later you two.” Emily sat the turkey dish on the sidetable. “Who’s hungry?”

“Presents first!” Ashley insisted.

“Presents after,” Jess countered. “I’m starving.”

While the others bickered, Josh slid his hand into Sam’s.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know,” he said softly, watching Jess and Chris set up the tree.

“I did, actually.” Sam squeezed his hand. “It’s not Christmas without you.”

“Merry Christmas, Sam.”

“Merry Christmas, Josh.”


End file.
